CANBERRA, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Toddlers in the Australian state of Victoria will be offered free influenza vaccinations following a severe 2017 flu season.
Jill Hennessy, Victoria's minister for health, announced that the shots will be available for children aged between six months and five years from May onwards.
More than 3,941 children younger than five years old were hospitalized in Victoria alone during the 2017 flu season, up from 871 the previous year.
Eight-year-old Rosie Anderson died from the flu in September just a week after contracting the virus.
More than 385,000 are expected to receive the free vaccinations, costing the state 2.74 million U.S. dollars.
While the number of children who caught the flu more than quadrupled, cases in the general population also rose to more than 13,000 compared to around 7,000 the previous year.
Hennessy on Saturday called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to expand the National Immunization Program (NIP) to include children.
"We're ensuring kids aged under five can access a free flu vaccination before another deadly flu season starts - and we'll keep pressuring Malcolm Turnbull and the Liberals to protect Victorian kids permanently," she said in a media release on Saturday.
"Victorians were hit hard by last year's flu season, and kids weren't immune. If Malcolm Turnbull and the Liberals won't protect our kids from the threat of the flu, we will."
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt returned fire, accusing the state government of "deliberately and irresponsibly politicising the NIP."
In a statement, Hunt said he "utterly rejected" the accusation that he had refused to expand the program, instead laying blame at the feet of the Victorian government.
"By law, for a vaccine to be listed on the National Immunization Program, it must be registered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and recommended by an independent panel of medical experts, which make up the PBAC," he said.
"The Victorian Government has failed to make this application despite being urged to do so for over a year."
